"You May Say I'm A Dreamer, But I'm Not The Only One..."
Hundreds of engaged Calgarians joined CAWST and our Youth Wavemakers at Bankers Hall on March 22 to celebrate World Water Day. Over 100 youth were in attendance from schools and organizations across Calgary, displaying and discussing their water action projects that are truly making a difference...drop by drop!
Since last fall, these talented wavemakers have been working on water action projects, implementing a variety of initiatives in their schools and communities, all in an effort to raise awareness about the importance of conserving and learning about our most precious resource - water. From film festivals to poster awareness campaigns to the selling of vegetarian cookbooks, these youth sure know how to make sustainable change at the local level.
Bill Robinson, Grade 9 Global Leadership Teacher at St. James School in Calgary's SW, and a few of his motivated students, spoke to the crowd gathered at Bankers Hall about the significant impact that CAWST and the Wavemakers educational materials have had on their classroom. St. James School has had a water club and initiated water projects, remarkably, for the last 7 years.
This year, after some heavy campaigning, the water club was successful in lobbying the Catholic School Board to put in sensors in the boy's washroom to reduce water consumption. Previously, valves in the urinals flushed every 6 minutes, and now, thanks to these students, they only flush when occupied. This will save a tremendous amount of water and reduce the Calgary's overall water footprint.
It's small actions like these that really do create a meaningful and long-lasting impact on our city. CAWST congratulates all of the inspiring and determined youth that were in attendance on March 22 and are humbled by their creativity, passion and innovation.
